NCAA: ‘Never be known’ if Michigan had competitive advantage from sign-stealing scheme
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When it announced sweeping sanctions against the University of Michigan on Friday, the NCAA’s Division I Committee on Infractions cited “overwhelming evidence” that the football program, under former head coach Jim Harbaugh, conducted a years-long impermissible scouting scheme.
The NCAA found sufficient evidence that during the 2021, 2022, and 2023 football seasons, former U-M football staffer Connor Stalions directed and arranged for individuals to conduct off-campus, in-person scouting of Michigan’s future regular-season opponents.
Stalions and other Michigan staffers were found to have engaged in 56 instances of off-campus, in-person scouting of 13 future regular-season opponents.
Michigan went 12-2 in 2021, winning the Big Ten Championship. The Wolverines then went 13-1 in 2022, claiming another Big Ten title and suffering their only defeat in the College Football Playoff semifinal round. The Wolverines then went 15-0 in 2023 to claim a third consecutive conference crown and the program’s first national championship in more than 20 years.
The year prior to the start of the sign-stealing scheme, Michigan went 2-4. The Wolverines were 9-4 in 2019.
However, the NCAA stated on Friday that it had no way of knowing what kind of competitive advantage was gained through the scheme.
“The true scope and scale of the scheme—including the competitive advantage it conferred—will never be known due to individuals’ intentional destruction and withholding of materials and information,” the COI said in its release.
Throughout the investigation, Stalions, Harbaugh, current Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore, and former assistant director of player personnel Denard Robinson each failed to meet the NCAA’s expectations of cooperation.
According to the NCAA, their conduct ranged from destroying relevant materials to providing false and misleading information during interviews — including Stalions instructing an intern to “clear out” emails, photos, texts, and videos related to the scouting scheme.
Stalions also admitted to throwing his phone in a pond and game film in a pond.
The panel stated, “In short, Stalions’ multiple and repeated failures to cooperate are some of the worst the COI has ever seen.”
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
